The Thai team had an unsuccessful friendly match against Georgia, the team ranked 79th in the world. In the first 45 minutes, coach Alexandre Polking and his team were careless in defense and conceded 6 goals. Even in the first 20 minutes, the Thai player was suffocated and unable to hold the ball and play.
After losing quickly due to defensive mistakes, the Thai team continued to concede 2 more goals in the second half, despite reorganizing the squad to play better than before the break.
The 0-8 defeat to Georgia was the biggest loss in many years for the Thai team, approaching the record of 0-9 loss of the team nicknamed “War Elephants” to the England team more than half a century ago. .
After the “humiliating” loss, coach Polking said that the players made many personal mistakes that led to the heavy defeat. He analyzed: “We expected to do better than this, but things did not go as expected. Many of the players I called up this time were just playing for the Thai team for the first time. There are many players. just been summoned for the first time.
This was an important match for my players to learn from because we met a strong team like Georgia. We analyzed before the match that Georgia had a quick transition and they were a strong team. In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes and were punished for our mistakes,” coach Polking stated.
The German strategist affirmed that the Thai team must accept the lesson and play better. “We have to learn lessons together. Good luck to Georgia in the next match. As for Thailand, we will work hard to come back and play well in the next match.
It was a big loss but I don’t think I blame the players. All the players and fans who were with us today did their best. Everyone tried their best. We must prepare well for the next friendly match with Estonia.”
The Thai team will play a friendly match with Estonia (ranked 115th in the world) on October 17, before heading to the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Coach Polking and his team are in the same group as South Korea, China and the winner of the pair. Round 1 match between Singapore and Guam.
Coach Polking is under great pressure when the Thai team is not playing successfully. Before losing 0-8 to Georgia, Thailand lost to Iraq in the King’s Cup final at home in September.